


Of Growing and Glowing

by Moonstar_Child



Series: Home [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, So don't worry, Understanding, but I'm not a monster like Tom King, mentions of bullying, mentions of mental health
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:02:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29964723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonstar_Child/pseuds/Moonstar_Child
Summary: A prank and a much needed talk about mental health.You don’t need to read “Of Glitter and Love” to understand this one, but I wrote some hints here and there about that one on this one.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Damian Wayne, Damian Wayne & Batfamily, Damian Wayne & Colin Wilkes, Damian Wayne & Everyone, Damian Wayne & Hal Jordan, Damian Wayne & Jon Kent, Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Jonathan Kent & Damian Wayne & Colin Wilkes, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne
Series: Home [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2203920
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	Of Growing and Glowing

**Author's Note:**

> As always a big thanks to @Can_i_hear_a_Wahoo for being my beta! Also, go and check out his work, he has an amazing Severus x Lupin’s FF.

\-----------------

Damian adjusted his cape, the sleeves were particularly large for his small body, he frowned, and decided to fold them up for now. He started walking around the room to lit the candles one by one, when he finished he gave a small smile and turned his head to see that Colin finished drawing the pentagram on the ground with the crayons that Darla gave them last week as thanks for helping her with school. Which resulted in the pentagram having some parts red, others green, and so on, whatever, it’s not like aesthetics were important for this.

When Damian saw Colin standing up the door of the room opened, Jon came inside carrying BatCow and then proceeded to put her down in the middle of the pentagram. Damian cooed and patted her as a dog, before signaling to the other two to start painting her red. He made her lay down on the ground as if she was asleep and massaged her face as thanks while promising her food for her work.

When the three finished, they heard the window of the room being opened, so they turned around and smirked.

\----------------------------

Jason was tired, even after years of patrolling Gotham it didn’t get any easier the physical or emotional baggage of it. But he wouldn’t change it for the world, so while jumping from one roof to another he allowed himself to feel the air on his face or more like he would have done that if not because of his Red Hood’s helmet protecting him. It was fine though, he was near his safe house, once inside he would be out of his mask, would take a shower and be dead to the world for some hours. Maybe he would go with the Outlaws on a mission, Jason smiled, yes, that would be nice.

When he arrived at the fire staircase he stopped momentarily and moved his head sideways, because he could swear there were voices inside of the apartment, he narrowed his eyes and searched for his gun on his tight. When he was gonna take it out of the holster he heard the distinctive voice of the youngest member of his family,  _ Damian _ . That was odd, as far as he knew his demon brother was on a sleepover with the other two gremlins in Metropolis. But Jason ended shrugging his shoulders, he resurrected years ago, who was  _ he _ to judge what was weird?

He opened the window and went inside the apartment, taking out his helmet the moment he was completely inside, he exhaled and shook his head, it was starting to get hot at night. He took away his jacket, before making his way to his bedroom, he hadn’t heard Damian’s voice since he entered, but honestly, who else would have the wish to die on this fine day if not a bat breaking in Jason’s safe house?

He took the doorknob, opened the door and said “Does B know you are here, kid?”, but then he stopped death in his tracks while blinking several times. Because, how could Jason even start to describe what he was witnessing? The room was being illuminated by several candles all around the place, which created an unnerving aura, his baby brother was holding hands with Jon and Colin, the trio were wearing black capes and were murmuring things in another language, was it latin? And then, in the middle of them resting on the ground was BatCow covered in blood, inside a pentagram, and near her was Damian’s katana. Jason took a breath in, what the fuck. 

“Damian” he took a step inside the room, did he need to call B? No, no, maybe Dick, he could always bring Damian back from his thoughts, yes that could work. But before he could use his comm, an air passed through the room making all the candles go out. It was pitch black for some seconds until the moon lighten the room, and he saw three pair of eyes set on him, but no, that’s not what made him considered that he lost his sanity, BatCow opened her soulless eyes and started  _ floating _ like fucking Superman, and when Jason thought he had seen it all, BatCow started to speak “You fool human”, and then everything on his room started being thrown his way, and that was it, Jason gave the most high pitched scream of his life and run out of there as if his life depended of it.

\----------------------------

When they were sure Todd left, everyone in the room started to laugh. Colin switched the lights on, before going to BatCow and said beaming “Thanks, Deadman, that was awesome!”. BatCow or more like Deadman possessing her only nodded as acknowledgment.

“That was good” commented Damian.

“Jason didn’t even notice Mr.Constantine!” screamed excited Jon “Not even that the voice was coming from him” and then he chuckled. 

At that everyone landed their gazes to the man on the corner who had the biggest smile of all of them.

\----------------------------

Cass was climbing the stairs of Wayne Manor, a box on both hands. When she made it upstairs she didn’t even hesitate before going towards Damian’s room, and when she was finally in front of it she made sure to knock before letting herself in.

Damian was drawing on his sketchbook, and to most people he might look at peace, but he had his shoulders a little tense, Cass frowned at this. This had been going for some weeks now, Damian hadn’t told anyone anything, as far as she knew, but something was bothering him, and it was getting worse if the distance Damian was putting with the family was any indication of it. Even the fact that he didn’t react when she entered his room was an indicator by itself. Cass shook her head, it wouldn’t be good to dwell on what she didn’t know, she would ask Bruce or Dick later. 

She made sure to walk as loud as she could to not frighten her little brother, at that Damian lifted his gaze, and Cass saw it even if it was for a second before he schooled his face, she saw the fear in his eyes. She thought about what to do, but by the look on Damian’s face it was better to let him be, she knew better than anyone else the importance of space.

She gave him a reassuring smile before walking the distance that was left, and showed him the box. Damian put down his pencil and sketchbook and told her “For me?”, she nodded at this. Damian took with careful hands the box, and put it on his desk “Should I open it?”, she nodded a little faster.

Damian took a cutter, once the tape was out of the way he opened the box, and didn’t move for some seconds staring at its contents “A vinyl record player” he murmured. He didn’t say anything while taking the vinyl out of the box, but Cass could see how his eyes were shining and there was a small smile forming, she grinned.

When it was completely out Damian took some seconds contemplating the player, before redirecting his eyes to Cass “Why?”. 

She answered him “The movie”.

And realisation dawned on Damian. Some time ago they saw  _ Lilo and Stitch _ , Damian loved the scenes of Lilo playing her own vinyl, and even if they had one at the dance room, it wasn’t the same as having one yourself. But after being grounded once again after the prank against Jason, Damian forgot about it. He touched the vinyl softly, before addressing Cass “Thank you”, both smiled. 

\----------------------------

Tim was sipping a cup of coffee in the kitchen, when he heard someone entering the mansion, and before he could even say  _ Welcome back _ , that person shut down the front door with a force that resonated everywhere. Tim walked outside the kitchenette, and the only thing he was able to see was Damian running full speed towards his bedroom. 

\----------------------------

Tim thought that would be the end of it, but after some minutes he started hearing objects being crashed, and what appeared to be screams. Tim didn’t think twice before climbing the stairs running towards the noise, which was inside Damian’s room. He tried to open the door, but was locked, and the objects being thrown around were getting louder and louder.

Tim banged Damian’s door “Damian! Are you ok?”, and before Tim could reprimand himself, because Damian was obviously anything but fine, his brother answered him.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!!”

“Dami-” Tim was interrupted by Damian opening his door, and shoving him to the ground “STAY AWAY, DRAKE!!!” Damian told him before turning around and locking himself again. Tim blinked several times, because Damian was crying, and the look on his face was of pure fear.

_ Fuck _ .

\----------------------------

Tim was walking in circles in the living room, he didn’t know what to do after he saw his brother in such distress, sure they were in better terms that years ago, but they weren’t as close as Dick and Damian were, or had a mutual understanding of death as with Jason, or even a silence agreement as with Cass and Duke, and neither Alfred or Hal were around today. Tim put his hands on his eyes, this was the literal worst. 

He was supposed to be the older of the two, he had to be a pillar for his brother as he was for the Teen Titans and his bestfriends, but he failed him in that regard, didn’t he? Tim exhaled, this wasn’t about him, it wasn’t the time.

He didn’t know who to message or call first, who would be better to bring back Damian from whatever was haunting him? Fuck it, he put the cellphone on his ear while waiting for the other to pick up.

“Hello?” said a voice.

Tim gave a sigh of relief “Colin, hi, it’s me, Tim”.

“Oh! Hey, Tim!” beamed Colin.

“I- I’m sorry for asking this all of sudden, but it’s about Damian” Tim explained to Colin everything that happened, rationally he knew it wasn’t good to rely on Colin, because Colin didn’t deserve that level of responsibility at such a young age, but just this once, just this once he needed someone that could tell him what he could do to make it better, and that person was definitely one of Damian’s best friends. When Tim finished Colin stayed in silence before speaking again.

“If Dami hadn’t told you what’s going on, neither will I” Colin said this as if it pained him, and before Tim could cry out of despair, the younger continued, “But” Colin sighed “But I can tell you that Damian needs reassurance”. 

“Reassurance?”

“Yes, seeing a movie might help him if he is still distressed, and cuddles”.

“Ok, ok, I can do that” Tim didn’t know if that was more to comfort Colin or himself, the other only hummed. Tim was gonna hang up when Colin said.

“And Tim? He trusts  _ you _ ” Colin didn’t elaborate further before hanging up.

\----------------------------

When Dick arrived at the Manor he could only hear the sounds of the television in the living room. He made his way towards the room, opened the door, and let in his head first to see how everyone was doing. Cass and Duke were dozing next to the other on one of the sofas, Damian and Tim were hugged on the ground and sleeping. Dick sighed relieved before entering the room, he saw Bruce on another of the sofas and decided to sit next to him.

“Hi” he murmured. 

“Hey, Dick” said Bruce with a smile.

“How is he?”

Bruce made a face “Better for  _ now _ , but he hadn’t told any of us anything”.

“Maybe I should speak with him” suggested Dick, but Bruce shook his head, before Dick could snap to him Bruce put a hand on his shoulder.

“Let me” and how could Dick say no when Bruce had that face of determination on him?

\----------------------------

When Alfred, Jason and Hal arrived, Bruce decided it was time to wake his children. He helped them stand up and send them to their rooms, because even if they didn’t live at the Mansion anymore, they would always have a place to call home there. When Damian woke up, he put a hand on the younger’s head, before kneeling and asking if it was ok to speak. When Damian nodded, Bruce guided him to the library.

Hal went with Alfred to help him with dinner. Jason and Dick went to Tim’s room to put him at ease, that  _ yes, you made the right call, Tim _ . And Cass and Duke decided to go and clean Damian’s room.

\----------------------------

Bruce sat at one of the single sofas near the fireplace, and made a hand gesture to tell Damian to take the one next to him. Bruce stared at the fire, he didn’t want to pressure Damian to talk, and maybe it would be easier that way for his son to say everything he needed.

10 minutes passed before Damian spoke.

“My sketchbook was ruined” Damian exhaled “ _ Sketchbooks _ ” he emphasized. “It started as a joke, I guess, they would write things where I sit” Bruce heard his son shifting on the sofa “ _ Terrorist, Outsider, Mommy didn’t want you, Unloved, Dirty, Kill yourself, Burden _ ” Damian chuckled “Some of them weren’t even insults,  _ Rich kid, Child _ ”.

“At first I tried to ignore it, but the more I did, the more they picked on me. And I know it’s childish and I shouldn’t pay attention to it, but Father, I guess… I guess that when you are constantly called something, even if you are not that, you start wondering if maybe there’s some truth in it” Damian murmured the last part. Bruce took a breath in, and shifted his gaze towards Damian who held his gaze “Am I pathetic, Father? I’m sorry, I didn’t want to disappoint you” and then his son lowered his gaze as if ashamed.

There were so many things running through Bruce’s mind, but the louder was,  _ He needs you _ . He stood up and kneeled in front of Damian, who was still looking to the ground. He lifted his hands, and took his son’s cheeks on both hands, then he put his forehead on Damian’s. 

“I’m sorry” said Bruce, and he was so near his son that he saw how the youngest’s eyes widened. “I protect people everyday, and I failed to protect  _ you _ ” when it looked like Damian was gonna respond, Bruce shushed him “Let me finish, Damian”, Damian held his father's gaze as answer. 

“All the things these children say? Those were all lies” Bruce cracked a smile “Well, maybe not the part of you being rich” that made Damian snort. He put some distance between the both, but didn’t let go of Damian’s cheeks, he cupped his son's face until the latter shut his eyes “You are human, Damian, you are allowed to feel pain. And I’m sorry that I made you feel like you should feel ashamed of it, son”.

When Damian’s eyes opened again, Bruce took him from his armpits and picked him up, Bruce sat on the sofa and then put Damian on his lap. Bruce put a hand on Damian’s hair and passed his fingers through it, the other arm was holding his son’s back so Damian could rest his head on Bruce’s chest. 

After some minutes Damian told him “Colin said maybe seeing a therapist would help” Bruce only hummed as encouragement “Not only about this, but also… about Mother, and… yeah”.

“Would you like that?”

“Can I?” asked Damian, afraid.

“Of course, you can. I had been thinking about family therapy for a while now”.

“Oh”.

Bruce hugged his son “Great minds think alike”. Damian nuzzled on his chest before allowing himself to shut his eyes. Bruce stayed there hugging Damian, and thinking of how tired he was of failing his children. This needed to change,  _ he _ needed to change.

\----------------------------

When Damian woke up, he was on his Father’s arms with a blanket, and Hal Jordan was on the next sofa asleep. He shifted a little and saw through the window that it was the middle of the morning, maybe around 4 am. That meant that both his Father and him didn’t patrol for the day, but Damian didn’t feel guilty, he felt lighter than he had been feeling for some time. And with that in mind he closed his eyes once again. 

\----------------------------

When Damian woke up the next time it was to his Father speaking softly with someone else, he shifted on the arms that were holding him, and the voices shuted immediately.

“Sorry, did we wake you up?” asked Bruce, softly.

Damian blinked several times and yawned “It’s fine”. Damian glanced towards the other voice and saw Hal smiling at him, he nodded and said “Jordan”.

“Hey” Hal murmured “How are you feeling?”.

Damian didn’t answer right away, he took some seconds thinking about it, and both adults didn’t pressure him. “Better” Damian smiled “I’m better”, and he meant it.

Hal smiled fondly before standing up and walking towards them. “What about breakfast with us?” Damian only nodded, because yes, it would be good to see everyone. Hal turned around and kneeled, that way his back was presented to Damian, who didn’t hesitate to put his arms around the older’s neck, and his small legs on the older’s waist. Hal stood up as if Damian didn’t weigh anything, and started walking them towards the dining room. 

\----------------------------

Damian put his fork down, no one had asked him what happened to him. But he knew it’s not because they didn’t want to, it was because they were respecting his space. He sighed while eyeing everyone eating their breakfast, and without realising there was a smile on his face, because these persons were his family, he trusted and loved  _ them _ .

Colin always reminded Damian how important communication was, it was another of the reasons they worked so well. In a sense Colin was a safe haven to Damian, he never judged him, and was always patient when Damian struggled to address his feelings. And Jon, Damian snorted, he carried his heart on his sleeve, which made Damian willing to confide in him.

And his family? They had earned his trust. So he would tell them what happened, not because he  _ had _ to, he wanted to, he wanted them to know what was happening, he wanted for his family to know more about him from the inside. He coughed slightly, but everyone stopped immediately and lifted their gazes towards him, and with a wavering smile he told them everything. 

\----------------------------

Damian was in his room with Alfred the cat on his lap, and Titus next to his hip. He was observing his room, he had done some damage to the walls, and several of his things were broken, but what pained him the most was the vinyl Cass gifted him, he didn’t even realise he hit it with something, and now was seeing the damage of his emotional outburst. It pained him, not because he couldn’t buy another vinyl as this, but because it was almost a reminder, about how incapable he was of treating other people’s feelings with care.

\----------------------------

Family therapy and individual therapy were… hellish as fuck. Sometimes they would make progress, others Damian would refuse to even speak and started to feel overwhelmed about the whole thing. But the reason why Damian didn’t quit, it’s because after maybe three therapists, he found the right one for  _ him _ . Colin told him once that if a therapist made him feel uneasy or uncomfortable, the best option was to go with another one, because therapy was about opening the rawest parts of you to a stranger, and you didn't want to do that with someone that didn’t sit well, even if they never did anything to you.

So after some months Damian started to see a change in his family dynamic and in himself. It was small, at least for him, but Colin and Jon would sometimes tell him that he was smiling more, and it was easier for him to put into words his feelings. And he believed them, because he wasn’t getting nightmares as regularly, and that? That was a fucking achievement. 

\----------------------------

He never threw away the vinyl that Cass gifted him. One day Tim and Cass appeared in his room with several tools, and told him that they could repair the vinyl if he wanted to, he said yes. 

At the end it worked, the vinyl could still play the discs, but it still had some dents. When Damian made a face at it, Tim told him about  _ kintsukuroi _ or golden repair, and Damian told him  _ that _ applied to clay, not to a vinyl record player, which made Tim give him an exasperated look that only made Damian chuckle.

But, Damian got it, there’s beauty in broken things when they allowed themselves to heal, he wondered if that applied to  _ him _ too.

\----------------------------

Damian blinked while waking up, and put a hand on his mouth to hide his yawn. He sat up slowly and tried to get a hold of his surroundings. He put both of his legs close to his chest, so he could use his knees to rest his chin and smiled a little. Dick and Jason were cuddling Duke who had a frown on his face because of all the weight the other two were putting on him. Cass and Tim were using Titus as a pillow, Damian snorted.

Damian heard the sound of the door being opened and lifted his gaze, in the doorframe were Hal and Bruce, both had fond smiles on their faces when they saw their children sleeping, when they shifted their eyes towards Damian, their faces glowed with affection. And Damian, he didn’t hide his face even if he felt himself getting red, struggling still with such open affection. 

  
He beamed towards them, because home never felt this  _ right _ before. 

**Author's Note:**

> Caregivers are such an important role in a child's life. They (the caregivers) could’ve hidden trauma, which is why some of them go to therapy before having children. Also, trauma it’s not only being hit, abused or going through a traumatic experience, it can also come in the form of emotional neglect. 
> 
> Mental health is a really important topic that should be addressed with the level of importance that it requires. If you are struggling with mental health, I hope you are receiving the help that you need, and if you aren’t, I hope it gets better. 
> 
> Lastly, I hope that you are hydrated and healthy, both physically and menthally.


End file.
